Comfort, good food in familiar setting

Dining out

The sign says The Woolwich Arrow Pub but people around here call it The Wooly.

In these times when new joints, bistros, and pubs are popping up all over downtown Guelph, sometimes the best comfort can be found in familiar territory.

The Wooly was founded on the backbone of locally sourced foods, featuring microbrews on tap. In fact, it was beer that inspired Bob Desautels to start a pub. While teaching a course on beer at the University of Guelph in the 80s — that’s a good teaching job — Bob knew that people were catching on to the microbrew movement and being a smart guy he knew what to with that kind of information. People want to go to the local pub to drink local beer and eat local food — and so The Wooly was born.

It was in that spirit that I walked into a jam packed Wooly on a Friday night, sat down with our party of 6 and asked the waiter “What would Bob drink?” It seemed the right way to start reviewing this pub. A pint of Harvest Ale — made in Guelph — magically appeared at my table (well, the waiter brought it) with a pint of cider for the lady (who I brought with me).

While we analyzed the menu, the table beside us had the Wooly poutine with pulled pork delivered to their table. Hey, I like my two servings of gravy a day as much as the next guy but this looked like quite an addictive appetizer so I steered clear this time. We decided on the Arrow selection — a combo of the legendary salt & pepper chicken wings, cheese antojitos, and peanut hummus with nan. The wings are simply the best in the city. A crispy dry salty and peppery rub encases the juiciest wings possible. Ask anyone who’s had them and they’ll tell you to order them too. The antojitos were cheesy and creamy with a bit of heat and the hummus delicious. I always think that I don’t like anyone playing around with hummus flavours until I taste something new and innovative like using chunks of roasted peanuts. The combo starter was a great choice.

I can’t resist a steak pie on a cold night in a warm pub, so I didn’t. The Arkell Steak & Mushroom pie came with creamy roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a little more gravy. The beef is marinated in Arkell Best Bitter Ale — which is my favourite ale at the Wooly. The pie was dense with chunks of mushroom and “fall of the bone” tender beef and was perfectly proper pub fare. The deluxe Mac & Cheese was made with smoked cheddar and baked with a Parmesan bread crumb topping the deluxe version features double smoked bacon and mushrooms. I loved the bacon undertones but my vegetarian sources tell me that the dish is also quite good without it. For our tastes we thought it could have been cheesier but a good main nonetheless.

The other main dishes ordered at our table included the Prime Rib Dip sandwich, the feature burger with old cheddar and a beet relish that burst with colour and flavour, and the lobster sandwich (from the Northern Lights Food Festival Menu). I tasted each main at our table (both by invitation and when people weren’t looking) to assert that each meal was delicious. More than one person at our table declared the Wooly burgers to be the best in town.

For dessert we ordered the Bailey’s cheesecake and the chocolate truffle mousse cake and 6 forks. Both desserts were chocolaty without being overly sweet and were devoured by the ladies before I had a shot at a second taste.

Bob, you have a good thing going here. Local food, local ales, and a pub full of locals enjoying both.

Dinner for two including apps, mains, desserts and 2 pints $86 (before tip)

In a Nutshell

A Guelph treasure. Not just good pub fare but more importantly good food in a pub.

Three forks out of four

Assessing food, atmosphere, service and prices. Dining Out restaurant reviews are based on anonymous visits to the establishments. Restaurants do not pay for any portion of the reviewer's meal. Oke can be reached at Oke-travis@gmail.com.